People

Our staff members are all committed students of the accumulated wisdom of history as it is expressed in traditional architecture and urban design. Our passion for building strong communities starts here in our studio, among our friends and colleagues.

Ben Willis

AIA, LEED AP
Architect

Ben relocated from La Jolla, California to join Union Studio in May 2014. He has a strong background in high-end custom residential design, experience gained during four years at Island Architects in California. Prior to that, Ben held several architectural internships where he contributed to commercial, institutional, and multi-family projects.

He received his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Notre Dame, with a concentration in furniture design. While at Notre Dame Ben was awarded the Henry Adams Certificate, the Dean’s Undergraduate Design Excellence Award, and was designated class Salutatorian. Ben serves as a mentor with the ACE Rhode Island program, is a regular contributor to the Common Edge blog, and was part of the inaugural DESIGNxRI Forward: Advance cohort. He is an active church volunteer and a cappella singer. Ben is a licensed architect in the State of California.

Hometown: Erie, Pennsylvania

Favorite place and why: The top of the tallest bell tower or hill in any city – I enjoy the serene, bird’s-eye view of a place without escaping too far from its core. Favorites include Mt. Soledad in San Diego (my former home) and the Janiculum hill in Rome.

Pivotal Childhood Memory: When I was 5 years old, I marched up to the choir loft after church and told the organist that I wanted to learn piano and I wanted her to start teaching me right away. I’ve been playing continuously since!

A word to the wise: From the pen of Edmund Burke, “A healthy civilization is one that keeps the relations with the present, the future and the past intact. When the past nourishes and sustains the present and future, an advanced society is involved!”